Archive for
November, 2008

It’s a subject that typically doesn’t get much press, but each year, about 90 million people around the world migrate for work. And, even though this labor migration is now essential to the supply chains of many international companies, these workers are often subject to deplorable human rights violations, including abuse, unsafe work conditions, forced labor, and human trafficking. In an effort to increase awareness of this increasingly vital –and vulnerable –segment of the global workforce, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), recently released a new report, titled “International Labor Migration: A Responsible Role for Business.”

A few days ago, I posed the question: Are consumers ready to be directly integrated into sustainability initiatives? Now this week, there’s a new survey report from EcoAlign that suggests the answer to that question is, “Not quite yet.”

Earlier this month, the World Environment Center (WEC), in conjunction with GreenBiz.com, released a white paper, titled “Greening the Supply Chain in Emerging Markets: Some Lessons from the Field.” The paper takes an in-depth look at how Greening the Supply Chain (GSC) initiatives can contribute to business success. It also presents ideas for managing effective GSC projects and provides an overview of how business managers, government policy-makers, and financial management partners can work together for the success of future GSC initiatives world-wide.

Would you wait an extra day or two for a package to be delivered to you if you knew that by doing so you were reducing GHG emissions for that delivery by say, 100 pounds of CO2? How do you think shoppers, in general, would respond to that sort of eco-friendly shipping option? As retailers scramble to both “go green” and reduce costs, they’re starting to rethink traditional shipping strategies. What’s your opinion? Is it time to directly integrate customers into sustainability initiatives? Are there other ways retailers can minimize the environmental impact of shipping?